UP Elections 2022| Dara Singh Chauhan, former BJP leader, joins Samajwadi Party,

Dara Singh Chauhan, the 2nd minister to quit BJP in Uttar Pradesh, joined Samajwadi Party on Sunday. Chauhan served as the Environment Minister in Yogi Adityanath's Cabinet till he quit on Wednesday.

Other than holding the Environment Ministry, Chauhan has also served as Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MP.

Apna Dal MLA RK Verma, whose party is allied with the BJP, also joined the Samajwadi Party on Sunday.

Nearly a dozen BJP MLAs quit the party this week, including three ministers. The domino effect of MLAs began with the exit of prominent OBC leader Swami Prasad Maurya on January 12.

Citing similar reasons as Maurya, Chauhan said, 'I am hurt by this government's oppressive attitude towards the backward sections'.

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His induction in the Samajwadi Party may very well be among the last few as Samajwadi Chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that they will not be taking anymore leaders, after snapping up all three BJP leaders who quit this week.

Yadav's comment comes after allyship talks with Bhim Army's Chandrashekhar Azad broke down.

Swami Prasad Maurya, Dharam Singh Saini and other MLAs were inducted in Samajwadi Party on Friday.

Last year, another influential OBC leader and a former BJP ally, Omprakash Rajbhar and his Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, crossed over to the Samajwadi Party.

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